Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 236 Tea Tasting Gathering
"The way to govern is nothing more than to promote education and enlighten the people," Huang Chao said eloquently. "With the example of Han Yu, the Duke of Han, governing Chaozhou, we should naturally follow in the footsteps of our predecessors. Other things, such as encouraging agriculture and sericulture and promoting commerce, are also essential."

Feng Cheng wanted to ask about the distribution of profits, but Huang Chao avoided the topic and steered the conversation toward education.

Feng Cheng's eyes flickered slightly, but he showed no anger. He clapped his hands and laughed, "To educate the common people is a great thing! Our prominent families in Lingnan have also hired many scholars from the Central Plains. If Commander Huang wants to spread education, there will surely be a use for him."

The two seemed to be of one mind, but in reality, they exchanged sharp words in a short while.

Many prominent families in Lingnan, regardless of whether their ancestors were Han Chinese or Li people, would try to associate themselves with powerful and influential families and promote themselves by appreciating literature as a refined taste.

In order to improve the cultural level of their own children, they spared no expense to recruit and support a group of unsuccessful scholars from the north of the Five Ridges.

In terms of sheltering failed scholars, these people shared the same idea as Huang Chao.

The purposes, however, are entirely different.

After establishing their family honor through Sinicization and infiltrating the circles of officials and gentry, prominent clans in Lingnan tried every means to isolate their people from knowledge, even prohibiting them from speaking Chinese and learning Chinese characters.

The people were confined to the territory of the powerful clans, unable to communicate with the Han Chinese cultural sphere outside, and thus their personal dependence on the powerful clans could not be severed.

These prominent figures often had two faces: they were both refined scholars at banquets in Lingnan and brave chieftains of barbarian tribes.

Feng Cheng's meaning was quite clear: it's good to engage in education, but not on our turf. We know what to do. Moreover, we have surplus teachers, and if Commander Huang needs them, the prominent families of Lingnan can spare some Confucian scholars for the army.

Huang Chao gave a forced smile: "I appreciate your kindness, Mr. Feng. But education cannot be accomplished in a day. Only after the city is captured and the situation is stabilized can we make a comprehensive plan."

He glanced at Zhu Wen beside him and said, "Liang Yu, serve the tea!"

Zhu Wen was already prepared.

The small pots and pans filled with water placed on the charcoal fire made a faint sound.

When the water surface shows fish-eye patterns and makes a slight sound, it is called the initial boiling.

Zhu Wen leisurely sprinkled refined salt onto the water's surface.

When bubbles rise from the edge of the pot like a continuous spring, it is called the second boil. At this point, use a copper ladle to scoop a ladleful of water and set it aside for later use.

A bamboo whisk with silver ends stirred the boiling water, and fine tea powder, as fine as wheat grains, sprinkled into the center of the pot. The tea boiled again, so the previously scooped water was poured back into the pot, and the fire was brought down slightly.

Once the tea has boiled to a rolling boil, the tea is ready. Immediately remove the pot from the heat and pour the tea into individual teacups.

This is when the true skill of tea ceremony is revealed.

A master tea maker not only pours tea evenly and with a clear color, but also pays attention to how to pour out the foam.

People in the Tang Dynasty rarely drank leaf tea; they brewed tea powder instead. However, the tea powder was not fine enough to dissolve in water, and most of it floated on the surface of the bowl. As the saying goes, "The green clouds are blown by the wind but cannot be broken, and the white flowers float on the surface of the bowl."

With skillful tea-pouring techniques, various patterns can appear on the surface of the bowl, a practice known as tea competition.

Zhu Wen used a silver ladle to splash water, serving a bowl of "Double Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate" to the head of the Feng family, and a bowl of "Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers" to another family head.

After pouring out five bowls of tea and discarding the remaining water, Zhu Wen leisurely returned to his seat. The other guests could only enjoy the tea brewed by the servants.

This is the rule for offering tea: from a pot of tea, only five bowls can be poured at most. Leftover tea is considered wastewater, and according to Lu Yu, the Sage of Tea, this is what makes it precious, distinguishing it from the common people's guzzling.

Looking at the astonished expressions of these Lingnan country bumpkins, Zhu Wen suddenly found it quite amusing.

When I was a teenager, I lived on the estate of the three Zhang brothers. I practiced tea brewing and wine making for a while, thinking that I could use it to win over the hearts of both civil and military people in the future.

Later, when he became a general himself, he realized that he was almost useless. He gained Lan Suting's loyalty by treating her sincerely. Lan Suting never drank the tea that Zhu Wen brewed, but she often cooked for him.

This kind of fancy trick can be used to fool those who are pretentious and ignorant.

"I only know that Zhu Liangyu, the disciple of Salt Commander, is skilled in battle and resourceful, and also possesses such unparalleled tea-tasting skills, no less than those of famous scholars. To have taught such a talented individual who excels in both literature and martial arts, it is clear that Salt Commander is truly a genius." Feng Cheng's attitude changed drastically from arrogant to obsequious.

He naturally assumed that Zhu Wen, a man of the martial arts world, was taught tea-making skills by Huang Chao.

Although the army was a band of outlaws, Huang Chao was a man of both literary and military talent, a renowned scholar, and had the famous poet Pi Rixiu as his ally.

It is common knowledge that Huang Chao recruited Confucian scholars to serve him along the way.

Zhu Wen's tea-serving gesture undoubtedly made the guests greatly overestimate the cultural depth of the common army, and they were filled with awe.

Many things are not so difficult if you do them with your own heart.

A later beverage called coffee was even more suitable for creating patterns than tea. Even a humble bartender serving water could produce exquisite patterns; one could typically master it in a few months.

However, tea masters in the Tang Dynasty did not provide such services; tea competitions were an activity for scholars and literati. Many people naturally assume that only highly respected and cultured scholars possessed the exquisite skills required for tea competitions.

Feng Cheng and his fellow Lingnan bumpkins came here pretending to be scions of powerful families. They only had a superficial understanding of various refined matters, and that was all they knew.

It turns out that this was just something Zhu Wen learned to play when he was a teenager.

The reason why tea competitions were so popular among scholars was because their elegant atmosphere resonated with people's competitive spirit.

The tea, personally brewed by Zhu Liangyu, Huang Jutian's disciple and chief strategist of the Grass Army, was first served to the head of the Feng family, then to the other four. No more tea was served; this was a rule established by the Tea Sage Lu Yu, and the rest could only drink tea brewed by servants.

This invisibly sowed discord among the heads of various families, causing them to become suspicious of each other, much like the story of "Yanzi killing three warriors with two peaches" during the Spring and Autumn Period.

Feng Cheng, who had come to provoke the enemy, received dates and the first bowl of tea, which almost meant that the bandits acknowledged the Feng family as the head of the various clans in the Gaoliang area.

However, those who did not receive tea felt as if they had been hit over the head, and they were worried that the Feng family and the other five families, with Huang Chao's support, would seize and annex their territory.

Huang Haishan, the head of the Huang family, could no longer sit still and suddenly stood up.

Although he also had the surname Huang, everyone knew that the Huang surname in Lingnan originated from the Dongman people and had absolutely no connection with the Han Chinese Huang surname. Therefore, he and Huang Chao had no connection whatsoever.

The Huang family's rise to power was recent, but their momentum was strong. Not having obtained one of the five bowls of tea, Huang Haishan had many ideas.

"Commander Yan has been talking about what will happen after the city is captured, so he must already have a plan. I wonder what brilliant strategy the rebel army has to deal with Li Tiao's Guangzhou navy?"

After the Battle of Guilin, the overall situation of the Grass Army was very good, but there were still some discordant reports.

For example, Huang Chao's newly formed navy was routed by Li Yi, the eldest son of Li Chao. Li Yi then swaggered off with his fleet to Jiaozhou and brought back a massive amount of rice.

In Lingnan, Jiaozhou was a very important grain-producing area.

It was impossible for the rebel army to conquer Annam in a short period of time.

This means that it is impossible to besiege the city and cause Guangzhou to collapse due to hunger; a direct assault on the city is necessary.

Huang Chao stroked his beard and said calmly, "That's right. Our army will launch a general offensive against Guangzhou within this month."

Huang Haishan then asked, "The government troops still have forces in Jiaozhi, Yongzhou, and Rongzhou. I heard that the rebel army has been besieging the city for several months, and many have been infected with the plague. Suppose that during the siege, the government troops fight like cornered beasts, and then reinforcements are sent to attack from both inside and outside, what should we do then?"

"The barbarian chieftain Haoli on the Nanzhao border, having heard of the government army's crushing defeat at Guilin, is already itching for trouble. If I send men to incite and entice them further, they will surely launch a raid on the border. If the government army dares to launch a large-scale attack, their stronghold will be ravaged by the Nanzhao barbarians. Have you ever heard of Tang Dynasty officials being so selfless and righteous that they would die for their families?"

Huang Chao had made arrangements long ago.

His willingness to publicly state his plans meant that the scheme had already been launched, and it didn't matter if it was leaked.

(End of this chapter)